Every St. Patrick's Day party needs a few key essentials: shamrock decorations, cases of Guiness and, of course, pitchers upon pitchers of green beer.

The emerald-tinted beverage has become a staple of the holiday ever since a New York doctor first created the colorful concoction in 1914. Green beer has since found its way to bars and celebrations across the globe in honor of St. Patrick's Day each year. Some breweries have even experimented with making their own version of the drink using ingredients like spirulina to achieve that coveted hue.

How to make green beer: ingredients

Thankfully, you don't need a whole lot of ingredients in order to make the perfect pint of green beer. All it takes is some brew and a bit of food coloring. While it seems pretty intuitive, there are a few tips and tricks to know so that your green beer comes out just right.

When it comes to what beers to get, make sure to grab a light-colored style. Dark brews like Guiness may be tasty, but they are extremely hard to turn green, and too much food coloring will lead to a bad taste in your mouth. Instead, go with your favorite beer that has a yellowish hue or a lighter color to it, like a Corona or a pilsner.

As for the food coloring, green is an obvious choice. However, if your beer has more of a yellow color to it, use blue food coloring instead.

How to make green beer: recipe

The recipe for green beer is super simple. Add three drops of food coloring to a glass and then slowly pour in your beer. Voila!